


I Adore You

by krowlin



Category: Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson, 楽しいムーミン一家 | Moomin (Anime 1990)
Genre: Fluff, Highschool AU, Human AU, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Springdove, ish, moomin has a LOT of anxiety, snufkin is stupid and moomin is in love, snufmin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-05-02 11:28:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19197853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/krowlin/pseuds/krowlin
Summary: Moomin's school year was supposed to be just spent with his friends, totally normal and usual. But.. his heart seems to have other plans. Other plans involving a green-clad kid with a charming smile.





	I Adore You

It was a new year at at highschool. Moomin was excited as ever, of course. He was always fond of the school year, mostly just enjoying the extra time with friends. It was nice to see how his friends had changed over the break. For example, Snorkmaiden came to school that year with a new piercing. It was very pretty, and he said so, which earned him a playful shove and a laugh. He and Snorkmaiden had dated for a while back in their freshman year. They broke up after Snorkmaiden realized that she liked girls more than guys, which was fine. Moomin whole-heartedly supported her, and there was no bad blood between the two. They were just better off as friends.

Moomin hadn't changed too much over the summer. Maybe he got an inch or two taller, changed up his style a little- all normal things, really. Nothing too drastic. He didn't want to change too much, he liked how he was and that was okay.

The first few classes were a breeze. It was mostly just the teachers introducing themselves, doing group exercises, that kind of thing. Then, before he knew it, it was time for lunch. 

Moomin headed over to his locker, fiddling with the lock until it swung open to reveal his books, bag, and the lunch Moominmama had packed for him. He smiled softly. It had a little sticky note on the front, a scribbled out 'have a good day!' with a heart. It was simple, but it made him happy. He took off the note and stuck it in his pocket, heading to the lunchroom.  

Little My and Snorkmaiden both sat at a table, and Moomin joined with a small greeting. Little My was complaining about something, probably a tiny issue that somehow now meant the world was ending. Little My was like that sometimes. She was a senior now, itching for college. Moomin would miss her, and he was a little bit worried she would change, but seeing as how she remained dramatic as ever Moomin was mentally reassured.

Moomin mostly tuned out her rant, humming along in response when need be. Sniff joined them at some point, chatting with Snorkmaiden about a class they shared. Moomin had let his gaze wander around the room, seeing plenty of people that he knew- Snork, Stinky (ew), Alicia..

But a face stood out to him. A face he hadn't seen around before. 

The kid was lanky. He had brown hair in a scruffy mess, curling at the ends. He had a big, green hoodie on with patches at the shoulders. It looked like it had been worn to hell and back if Moomin was being honest. Now that he was looking, the guy's clothes all looked like that. His shoes had a bit of caked mud on them and they were old and faded from years of use. His jeans were frayed and ripped, but not in a sort of stylistic way. And last but not least, his hat.

It was a beanie, green as his hoodie. There was a flower tucked into the fold of it. Cute. The hat looked less dirty than the rest of his outfit, but definitely still worn out. 

"Moomin! Listen to me! I'm trying to talk to you!" Little My yelled in his ear, shaking him. Moomin yelped a little, turning to her. 

"What do you want?"

"Oh, nothing," Little My raised her eyebrows. "Just wondering how anyone stands to be around you when you're this rude!" She paused. "What were you looking at?"

Moomin felt his face heat up a little, although he couldn't exactly say why. He fiddled with the edge of his shirt. "There's.. a new kid, I think. I haven't seen him around before."

Snorkmaiden gasped. "Oooh! Does he look cool?"

Moomin shrugged. "Y-yeah, I guess.."

"Who?" Little My inquired, her curiosity piqued. 

Moomin pointed in the vague direction of the kid, who was idly staring at his phone. He looked bored, his foot tapping on the linoleum floor. Moomin smiled a little.

Sniff squinted. "He looks homeless," he said. "But definitely new."

Little My let out a groan. "Oh, ew. That's my younger brother."

The three turned to her in surprise.

"Really? _Him_?" Snorkmaiden asked incredulously, glancing back. "He doesn't look like you at all!"

"Well, half sibling. He's annoying," she complained, shoving her spoon into a tater tot, slicing it in half. "I'm gonna go grab him so that he can actually make some friends this year. He's such a sadsack, really. Welp, be right back." She stood, walking over to her brother.

Moomin tried to protest to her bringing him over, but she either ignored him or didn't hear. Knowing Little My, it was probably the former, so Moomin scowled and tried to keep a blush from rising to his cheeks. He reminded himself that this was just a new friend and that he shouldn't be embarrassed at all, plus it was Little My's brother so he was probably annoying like her. 

All of that sudden confidence was obliterated in a second when the two came back. The only open seat was next to Moomin, so My's brother sat down next to him. 

"Hullo," he said quietly, looking to Moomin. His voice was soft and baritone, sounding almost musical in a weird way. It flowed from his mouth with a hint of an accent, flavoring the tone even though all he said was a simple hi.

Moomin almost felt disoriented looking into his eyes. They were brown, the prettiest brown Moomin had ever seen, with flecks of gold. They looked like two pools of honey, glimmering ethereally. He then realized he was staring, blinked rapidly, swallowed, then said the first thing that came to mind.

"Your.. your hat. Your hat is.. uh, g-green," he said, immediately wishing he could jump into the nearest trashcan and never be seen again. Oh god, that was so stupid. He felt like he was cringing so hard he might just die. 

He blinked slowly. "Your eyes are blue," he responded, a smile quirking his lips. 

His smile was gorgeous. It was like a million sunrises all at once, shining on Moomin brighter than he ever could've imagined. Moomin felt his face get a bit redder. He swallowed again, smiling back, reaching for any coherent thought. He couldn't find any though, this mystery person had just taken them all away and left Moomin utterly speechless with a smile.

"I'm Moomin," he said, holding out his hand hesitantly to shake.

He paused, looking at the hand. Then, he took it with a smile. An amazing, radiant smile. "Snufkin. Pleasure to meet you, Moomin." His hand was calloused and rough, but fit ever so nicely in Moomin's and oh, he feared he was going to pass out- "I see you're friends with my sister." Snufkin released Moomin's hand, shoving his into the pockets of his hoodie.

Moomin nodded. "Ah, yes. She's.. sure got personality," he said with a little chuckle. Snufkin smiled in response.

The group all talked for a bit, Snufkin mostly remaining quiet and staring off. He seemed a bit spacey to Moomin, but that was okay. Moomin was just trying to stay calm. He couldn't start the year off immediately with a crush, he just couldn't. Plus, they had barely met! Moomin didn't even know his favorite food, or what music he listened to, or his favorite color (though he could probably guess). Snufkin was just a new friend. That was it. No more, no less. Yeah, that was right. Just a new friend.

Moomin ignored the pounding of his heart. Just a new friend. 

The next class Moomin had was a science lab. He came in a little late after helping break up a fight between Little My and Stinky, and there was only one seat left.

To his surprise, it was right next to Snufkin in the back. He felt his heart skip a beat as he sat down next to him, pulling out his science notebook and scribbling quietly to distract himself. 

"Oh, hullo again," Snufkin said sofly, glancing at Moomin. Moomin just smiled and gave a tiny wave. He didn't want to interrupt the lesson. Snufkin just turned back to his notebook and started up writing again.

From what Moomin could see, his handwriting wasn't very good. It was a bit messy, smudging on the page. Snufkin didn't seem to mind, though. He continued to write until eventually the page dissolved into doodles. Moomin would glance over when he wasn't looking, seeing surprisingly good drawings of random people in the class. His art style was sketchy and realistic and really quite beautiful, in Moomin's opinion. At some point, their eyes met when Moomin was glancing over at his page again. 

Moomin immediately averted his eyes, straining his focus onto the lines on his page. Blue and straight, covering the paper. His mind wandered briefly back to what Snufkin had said at lunch about how his eyes were blue. It was such a simple little thing to say and quite normal in response to Moomin's horrid attempt at a good first impression, yet the thought made his face flush. Just a friend, just a friend-

It was then that the bell rang and it was time for the next class. Moomin got up with a small sigh, closing his notebook. 

"Well, I got none of that. I thought today was supposed to just be greetings n' stuff," he said.

Snufkin laughed. A beautiful laugh that sounded like music and honey- "If it's any consolation, I just doodled the entire time. We can find someone with notes, probably." He paused. "I'll.. see you later?"

"Y-yeah," Moomin responded, "See you."

And so, the day went on until it was time to leave. 

Moomin climbed into the bus, sighing. He had his cheek pressed up against the window, staring out to see Little My and Snufkin standing next to each other, probably waiting for their bus. Snufkin waved at him with a small smile. Moomin waved back. 

Moomin smiled to himself. This was going to be the start of something very, very good.

**Author's Note:**

> my first multi chapter story!!  
> this is mostly just a distraction to keep me busy bc of some stuff that happened in my family recently, so updates will probably be super sporadic. sorry ;-;  
> also this was written late and im not the best mentally rn so sorry if its trash, im just small and need fluff in my life  
> hope you enjoy! please leave me some feedback if you liked it (and some if you didnt so i can know how badly i fucked up :') )  
> love you all! i hope youre having a good week!! <3


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